Summer is here and if your child is anything like mine, there are two words that I hear from time to time. It’s like nails on a chalkboard. You know what I’m going to say. “I’M BORED.” School is out for the summer, his little pals are either on vacation or visiting grandma and he’s looking for something to do. Luckily for my little guy, I had just received a cute little box from Kiwi Crate and I asked him if he was in the mood to build something with me. I had him at “build.” If I had called it a craft, I would have gotten the cold-shoulder, but we were going to build rockets together. Today, I’m a cool mom today that is going to build rockets. I rock.
Before I give you the play by play on our rocket-building session, let me give you some information on Kiwi Crate. Kiwi Crate was founded by a mom of two, who was passionate about hands-on fun that encouraged creativity and curiosity in children. Kiwi Crate wants to make it fun, easy, and delightful to spend time building, exploring and creating together. The staff at Kiwi Crate includes creative parents who dream up the projects, valued experts who review them, and a community of kid testers who keeps them on their toes and ensures the projects are fun and engaging.
The Rocket project was the one that we received, which is found on the site under the Party Packs. This pack includes all the materials and instructions to make 10 rockets (with 3 jumbo straws) and blast them off into the air. We opened the crate and sorted out the materials together and looked over the directions. The directions were very straightforward and showed pictures of each of the items. I thought that was great. What I couldn’t quite grasp, was why there were only 3 jumbo straws for making 10 rockets. Once I wrapped my brain around the fact that you are supposed to have more rockets than launchers, it made more sense to me. This one box could be enjoyed by three children at the most; otherwise, there would be all kinds of drama.
I think the concept of the rocket is good and it kept my son busy for a few minutes (you can see our first creation in the picture), but I do feel that the contents of this particular pack could be been better. When decorating our rockets, we ran out of the streamers and what I refer to as “flair” by the second rocket. You could be creative and use your own stickers and curling ribbon to make more. We used a little of our own tape to keep things in place as well. Not a big deal at all. My son made a few rockets and moved on to another activity (shooting hoops). Perhaps he may be right on the cusp of being entertained by a project like this one. He’s 8 years old, so I think a younger child would get more enjoyment out of this particular box, but my son still found it fun. I asked him to give me his rating on a scale of 1 to 10 and he gave it a solid 7.
The Kiwi Crate web site has many options for purchasing projects, including a monthly subscription which includes all of the the materials and inspiration for 2-3 activities – art, science, games, imaginative play, and more. Every month, the crate will contain a new theme such as gardening, dinosaurs, or space, to name a few. You can even choose to send the Kiwi Crate subscription to a special little guy or girl as a gift. The crates can also be purchased individually.
Additionally, you can order Party Packs, which are a mini-version of the crate that come with a gift tag and handle. You can even select the color of the crate to match the party décor. This is sure to bring smiles to many little party guests.
Overall, this is a fun and creative concept with so many different options that suit both girls and boys. If you are like me and don’t have steady supply of craft supplies on hand, this is a great activity that gives the kids a little something different to keep them busy and entertained.
Disclaimer: Kristine has personally reviewed the product listed above. She has not received any monetary compensation for her review but did receive a free product to try out so she could evaluate and use it for her review. Her thoughts & opinions in this review are unbiased & honest and your opinions may differ.
My 7-year-old daughter spent the first part of the summer with her grandmother and the last month before school will be spent at home. I definitely needs something like this to keep her preoccupied. She’s already complaining about being bored. She would definitely be interested in the gardening kit.
This is pretty good, I think. My granddaughters are 5 and 7, I think they’d get use out of this. Thanks for the info.
For the money this is a good deal. Moreover it provides a parent with different fun and creative options for the summer or any other time. Even though there weren’t enough streamers the fact that your son gave it a 7 shows he did enjoy it.
When I first looked at the site I thought this box cost $20 – and felt that was a poor value -but then I saw the rocket box was $6 – and thought that was not so bad.